The present invention relates to a ceiling mounted system for use in a surgical theater. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus having articulating arms that support a surgical light, a video camera, and video monitors. The present invention also relates to such an apparatus wherein the articulating arms are inter-changeable between apparatus in different locations and configured to display video images selected from a plurality of video devices.
Video monitors are used in surgical theaters for viewing images such as, for example, images produced from lapyroscopic and endoscopic cameras. These monitors display images placed in a position so that the surgeon can view them during a surgical procedure. These monitors are typically mounted on top of a rolling cart that contains the lapyroscopic or endoscopic equipment. This cart is large and bulky and takes up valuable space around the operating table. Since the monitor is on top of the cart, the monitor cannot always be placed in a position that is the most optimum for viewing by the surgeon.
In many surgical procedures, two monitors are used because a physician's assistant is located on the opposite side of the operating table from the surgeon and cannot see the monitor that is positioned for the surgeon's viewing. In these cases, two monitors must be used at different locations around the table. The positions of the monitors varies depending on the type of surgery and the positions of the surgeon and the assistant. Having two carts with monitors on them takes up an excessive amount of floor space.
With the development of flat screen monitors, the size of the monitors has decreased dramatically. For flat screen monitors and CRT monitors having comparable image sizes, the footprint of the flat screen monitor enclosure is much smaller than that of the comparable CRT monitor. Similarly, the weight of the flat screen monitor is only a fraction of a comparable CRT type monitor.
Flat screen monitors are compatible with mounting on an arm that is attached to the ceiling. This allows the endoscopic cart to be separated from the video monitor. The cart can then be moved away from the table to different areas of the suite out of the way of the surgeon. The scope is plugged into a wall outlet that is hard wired through the wall and down through the support arms to the video monitors.
Filming and recording surgical procedures is now becoming more routine. Operating rooms are typically not adequately equipped to record these surgical procedures. In fact, more often than not, a surgeon employs the services of a professional company or utilizes the in house services available to film a procedure. This requires advance scheduling and is very expensive. Previously, such filming of surgical procedures was principally done for education within the hospital. Today, however, the need to film surgical procedures has expanded considerably.
Cameras are used in operating rooms as a means of networking with the rest of the world. The camera has now become the vehicle by which surgeons can consult with each other during live procedures. For certain surgical procedures it is not uncommon for surgeons to consult with each other from different parts of the world during a case (commonly referred to as ‘Telesurgery’). In teaching hospitals, clinical educators require interactive filming capabilities that can be controlled remotely from the classroom. Such procedures are either recorded for critique at a later date or simply observed ‘real time’ for teaching. Surgeons routinely record procedures and edit the content for presentation at a conference. More surgical procedures are being recorded for future reference should the outcome of the surgery be questioned.
The increased practice of endoscopic and lapyroscopic surgery has produced the need for more sophisticated camera and monitor systems that can alternate between internal and external images. The need to do this in a seamless and user friendly fashion is driving the demand for a new level of sophistication in cameras offered with surgical theater systems. Among the features demanded in these new systems is the ability for the system to be operated by the surgical staff.
Preferably, a surgical camera is movable to different vantage points around the patient, and should even be able to shoot laterally and directly downwardly over the center of the patient. To meet this unique set of needs and provide flexibility, the present invention provides a surgical theater system having a camera mounted on a support arm assembly extending from the same hub which supports the surgical light.
Typically, a surgical light hangs above the table in an OR suite for lighting the surgical site. Many health care facilities have more than one, and often several, OR suites in which surgical lights are mounted to illuminate surgical procedures. The disclosed device includes a plurality of arms mounted to the hub of a surgical theater system so that a surgical light, a camera and/or video monitors can be positioned effectively around the surgical table. In this specification, including the claims, the term “hub” is intended to refer to a member which rotates about an axis or shaft. Typically, a shaft is mounted to the ceiling in the OR to extend downwardly and at least one and often two lights are mounted on the hub for movement about the shaft.
According to one aspect of the invention, a surgical theater apparatus for suspending from a ceiling structural member of a hospital includes first and second devices selected from the group of a surgical light, a camera, and a monitor and a central hub mountable to the ceiling structural member to rotate about a rotation axis. The hub has a pivot axis spaced apart from and parallel to the rotation axis. A first device arm is coupled at a first end to the first device and mounted at a second end to the hub for movement about the rotation axis and about the pivot axis. A second device arm is coupled at a first end to the second device and mounted at a second end to the hub for movement about the rotation axis. The first device may be a monitor and the second device a camera. The hub may include a second pivot axis spaced apart from and parallel to the rotation axis and the first pivot axis so that a third device selected from the group of a surgical light, a camera, and a monitor may be mounted by a third device arm to the hub for movement about the rotation axis and about the second pivot axis. This third device may be a monitor. The first and second pivot axes and the rotation axis are coplanar. The first device arm includes a first segment and a second segment pivotally mounted to the first segment about a third pivot axis which is perpendicular to the first pivot axis. The apparatus may also include an additional surgical light attached to a surgical light arm mounted to the hub for movement about the rotation axis. The device may also include slip rings to facilitate passage of cables through the hub and arms, adjustable brakes for controlling rotation of the hub and pivoting of the arms, and stops limiting the motion of the arms.
According to another aspect of the invention, a surgical light apparatus for mounting to a support in a ceiling includes a surgical light head, a first monitor, a second monitor, a camera, and a shaft mountable to the support. The shaft includes a longitudinal axis extending downwardly from the support. A light hub is mounted to rotate about the longitudinal axis, the light head being coupled to the light hub by a light arm extending laterally away from the light hub. A camera hub is mounted to rotate about the longitudinal axis, the camera being coupled to the camera hub by a camera arm extending laterally away from the camera hub. A monitor hub having first and second pivot joints pivoting about first and second pivot axes respectively is mounted to rotate about the longitudinal axis. The first monitor is coupled to the first pivot joint by a first monitor arm and the second monitor is coupled to the second pivot joint by a second monitor arm. The first pivot axis is spaced apart laterally from, and is substantially parallel to, the longitudinal axis. The second pivot axis is spaced apart laterally from, and is substantially parallel to, the longitudinal axis. The first and second monitor arms pivot at least 180 degrees about the first and second pivot axes respectively. The device may also include slip rings to facilitate passage of cables through the hub and arms, adjustable brakes for controlling rotation of the hub and pivoting of the arms, and a second surgical light head coupled to a second light hub by a second light arm extending laterally away from the second light hub.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a surgical light apparatus for mounting to a support in a ceiling includes a shaft mountable to the support to have a longitudinal axis extending downwardly from the support, a surgical light head mounted to a light hub mounted to rotate about the longitudinal axis by a light arm extending laterally away from the light hub, and a monitor mounted by a monitor arm assembly to a monitor hub mounted to rotate about the longitudinal axis. The monitor arm includes a bent arm coupled to the monitor hub portion and extending laterally away and then downwardly from the monitor hub portion to a distal end. An extension arm is rotatably mounted at a first end to the distal end of the bent arm to rotate about a second rotation axis. A laterally-extending arm is mounted at a first end to a second end of the extension arm. An upper section of a downwardly-extending arm is mounted at the first end to the laterally-extending arm and a second end to the upper end of a lower section of the downwardly-extending arm. The lower section is rotatably mounted at the upper end to the second end of the upper section to rotate about a third rotation axis. The monitor is mounted to the lower section at the lower end. The longitudinal axis, first rotation axis and second rotation axis are generally parallel. The laterally-extending arm is pivotally mounted to the extension arm and the downwardly extending arm to pivot about first and second generally parallel pivot axes respectively. The first pivot axis is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. Slip rings facilitate rotation of the hub and the arm sections.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a surgical video apparatus for suspending from a ceiling structural member of a hospital includes a support mountable to the ceiling structural member and a shaft having an upper end and a longitudinal axis and being coupled at the upper end to the support to extend downwardly. A video monitor is coupled by a monitor arm to the the shaft for movement about a pivot axis, and a camera is coupled by a camera arm to the shaft for movement about a rotation axis. The pivot axis is spaced apart laterally from the rotation axis, said pivot axis and rotation axis being generally parallel to said longitudinal axis. The rotation axis is coaxial with the longitudinal axis. A second monitor is coupled to a second monitor arm coupled to the shaft for movement about a second pivot axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis. The first and second pivot axes extend through a hub to which the second ends of the first and second monitor arms are pivotally mounted and the hub is mounted to the shaft for rotation about the longitudinal axis. The first and second pivot axes and the rotation axis are coplanar.
A surgical light, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention includes a shaft mountable to a ceiling structure to extend downwardly and define a longitudinal axis, a surgical light mounted to a hub by a light arm to the shaft for movement about the longitudinal axis, and a monitor coupled to a monitor arm assembly for coupling the monitor for movement about the longitudinal axis. The arm assembly includes a first arm movable about the shaft and having, at its distal end, a portion extending downwardly to define a second axis, a second arm movable about the second axis, the second arm having a proximal end coupled to the first arm downwardly extending portion and a distal end, the monitor being coupled to the second arm distal end.
A surgical apparatus includes a hub assembly configured to be attached to a ceiling, an arm coupled for pivotal movement about the hub assembly and having a distal end including a mechanical connector and an electrical connector, the electrical connector being configured to couple to an electrical connector of a camera and a monitor, a monitor and a camera. The monitor is mounted to a mechanical connector configured to attach to and detach from the mechanical connector of the arm. The monitor is coupled to an electrical connector configured to attach to and detach from the electrical connector of the arm. The camera is mounted to a mechanical connector configured to attach to and detach from the mechanical connector of the arm. The monitor is coupled to an electrical connector configured to attach to and detach from the electrical connector of the arm.
According to another aspect of the invention, a surgical theater apparatus for use in a surgical suite having a ceiling includes a hub assembly, including a plurality of hub segments at least one of which is pivotable about a main axis, is adapted to be coupled to the ceiling. An arm assembly couples a video device to a first hub segment for pivoting movement about a pivot axis that is spaced apart from and parallel with the main axis. The video device may be a camera or a monitor. A second arm assembly may couple a surgical light a second hub segment. The arm assembly may include an upper arm, a counterbalanced arm assembly coupled to the upper arm coupled to the first hub segment for pivoting movement about the pivot axis, and a lower arm assembly coupled to the counterbalanced arm assembly.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a surgical theater apparatus for use in a surgical suite includes a hub assembly having a plurality of hub segments at least one of which is pivotable about a main axis. First and second video devices are coupled by first and second arm assemblies to a first hub segment of the plurality of hub segments for pivoting movement about respective pivot axes that are spaced apart from and parallel with the main axis.
According to another aspect of the invention, a surgical theater apparatus has an arm assembly including a first arm, a first mechanical connector coupled to the first arm, and a first electrical connector adjacent the first mechanical connector. A monitor assembly adapted to be mechanically coupled to the first mechanical connector and to be electrically coupled to the first electrical connector and a camera assembly adapted to be mechanically coupled to the first mechanical connector and to be electrically coupled to the first electrical connector are also provided. The monitor assembly and the camera assembly are selectively and individually coupleable to and decoupleable from the arm assembly.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.